Last night the SO asked me if I wanted to go for a walk with him. He is incapable of a strolling type of walk so I asked what he had in mind. He said that he wanted to do a 2 mile loop around the neighborhood. I hate this walk. I refer to it as the Death March. It seems to never end since we are weaving through city streets over uneven sidewalks in the dark. When he first took me I had no idea where we were going so every time we got close to the house I thought we were done only to have him turn down another street.
But I went with him last night and about halfway through I noticed something. He was starting to breathe hard and I wasn’t. I spent the last half of the walk with a growing sense of astonishment. I wasn’t the least bit tired when I finished the Death March. I always considered myself to be in good walking shape and I could walk for miles but I’d be tired afterwards. I felt great last night. Somehow it never occurred to me while doing all this running that I was getting in shape.
I know that sounds stupid. How can you increase your endurance from 1 minute runs to 25 minute runs without getting in shape? I haven’t lost any weight. My clothes haven’t gotten looser. I guess I think of those things as my goals for exercise and my measurement of its effectiveness. The increased time I could run was like a game. See if you can do this now. I never gave a thought to it having benefits in my daily life.
I didn’t want to tell the SO about my epiphany. Besides the fact that he would have given me a well deserved “Well, yeah, what did you expect?” I don’t want to rub it in. I wasn’t even going to tell him that I was running but I figured he’d find out sometime. He was a former competitive athlete. In fact there are trophies on the shelf over my head for running, swimming, etc. Then he went in the army. As he explains it they broke him. Now he can’t walk without pain. He would love to be able to run again but it isn’t going to happen. At first he had a hard time with me starting to run. He said the right things but I could tell he was jealous. He’s gotten much better though as he’s gotten time to get used to it and he’s super supportive. But I still don’t think it is the best girlfriend move to go “I’ve been running and I can walk without breathing hard like you are!” The one sport he can still do well is weight lifting. He could pick me up over his head and throw me if he was so inclined. I’ll have to keep the bragging on here!
Hi, Heather — I came over to visit your Pink Saturday post, and if I wasn’t on my dial-up at home, I’d comment on both of these! But of course, I had to read down and when I got to this, I just roared. The love of my life is a competitive bicyclist (with all the other fitness things that come with it!) Your story reminds me of our “let’s go for a walk” this summer — and we walked and walked. I, too, have used the phrase “death march” for what was supposed to be a pleasant stroll after a picnic. And when I DO fit things, I don’t tell, because I expect the same response! I feel as though I’ve found a bit of a kindred spirit! (Dif is, you’re actually running and improving! Bravo!) And your blackberry is cool!
Welcome to pink Saturday! Enjoy your day!!
xo Tami
Hilarious! Yep, keep the bragging here where it’s good and safe š And I hear ya on the lack of outward signs of progress — no weight lost or change in how things fit for me either. However, my husband did ogle my legs last night and comment on how nice and toned they are looking LOL!